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REAR-ADMIEAL 



William Branford Shtibeick. 



A. SKIETOK 



EEAR-ADMIRAL 



William Branford Shubrick, 









Reprinted from Harper's Magazine, witli the consent of the publishers. 






WILLIAM BRANPORD SHOBRICK. 



The country can ill afford to lose the memory of its best 
men. Every pure and upri<2:ht life has an inherent value 
much beyond ordinary calculation. But when a manly 
life thus pure, thus upright, and prolonged to a period of 
more than fourscore years, is given with noble fidelity to 
the public service, it attains a dignity which commands 
our grateful homage. 

William Branford Shubrick, the sixth son and ninth 
child of a family of sixteen, was born October 31, 1790, 
on Bull's Island, one of those islands of the Southern sea- 
board yielding the beautiful long cotton of Carolina. The 
island, which derived its name from Governor Bull, was 
then the property of Colonel Thomas Shubrick, who had 
rendered o-allaut service to the country in the war of the 
Revolution, entering the army when little more than twenty, 
and acting successively as aid to General Lincoln and to 
General Greene in the most important campaigns of the 
Southern department. 

From Belvedere, the home plantation of Colonel Thomas 
Shubi'ick, six sons passed into the military service of the 
country, the two elder, Thomas and Richard, who both 
died young, in the army, the four younger in the navy. 
John Templar and William Branford Shul)rick entered the 
naval service in the same year, in 180G. Lieutenant John 



Templar Shubrick, after heiug engaged in several import- 
ant actions of the war of 1812, and receiving a medal for 
his gallant conduct in the Hornet, was taken prisoner in 
the President in 1815, and carried to Bermuda. At the 
proclamation of peace, a few weeks later, he returned 
home, and in May sailed again with the squadron of Com- 
modore Decatur, bound for the Mediterranean to settle the 
difficulties with Algiers. Forty days after the squadron 
sailed from America, Commodore Decatur compelled the 
T>Qy to sign a satisfactory treaty, at Algiers. Lieutenant 
Shubrick was then placed in command of the EperDicr and 
sent home, bearing with him the treaty of peace. But the 
Epervler never made her port. She was seen to pass the 
rock of Gibraltar early in July, but from that hour nothing- 
is known of her coui'se. Her fate remains one of the 
solemn mysteries of the deep. 

The two younger sons of Colonel Shubrick, Edward 
Rutledge and Irvine, entered the navy rather later. Cap- 
tain Edward Shubrick died at sea in 1844, when connected 
with the Brazil squadron. Captain Irvine Shubrick, after 
serving as a midshipman at Algiers in 1815, rendered gal- 
lant service in the expedition against the piratical Malays 
of Sumatra in 1832, commanding the detachment of sea- 
men and marirjcs which landed at Quallah Battoo and 
captured the town by assault, after a vigorous resistance. 
He died at "Wilmington in 1849. 

The life of William Branford Shubrick was [irolonged 
many years beyond those of his brothers. Born but a few 
months after the final adoption of the Constitution, which 
merged a weak confederacy into a nation soon to become 
powerful, he lived to see the country pass through phases 
of existence which among older races have required cen- 



turies of time, and many successive generations of men to 
etfect. The vast panorama of vigorous national develop- 
ment unfolded al)oiit him, year after year, with marvelous 
rapidity. And in the midst of this impressive growth there 
came one great crisis after another — ^foreign wars, political 
changes, financial struggles, and at last treachery, conspi- 
racy, and civil war threatening the very life of the nation. 
During all those fourscore years, and in the midst of those 
convulsions, he held with simple manly dignity the position 
he had taken in early youth : brave, upright, faithful, gen- 
erous, a true American gentleman. 

It was in the summer of 1806 that the lad of sixteen 
received his warrant as a midshipman, and made his first 
cruise in the Wasp, Captain Smith. The navy was then in 
a very feeble condition. There was little, one should sup- 
pose, to attract a youth of spirit to the service. At that 
date the country had not a single ship of the line. The 
miserable policy of defending the harbors, bays, and sounds 
of a vast coast l)y gun-boats alone, had been adopted by 
the government. With a commerce that already carried 
the flag of the republic into all the seas of the known 
world, the armed marine of the nation was treated with a 
neglect strangely short-sighted. The commercial shipping 
of the country already amounted to a tonnage of 1,200,000. 
And yet there was but one station where an American 
cruiser was ever seen. The insolence of the Barbary 
pirates had rendered it imperatively necessary to keep a 
small squadron of two or three vessels in the Mediter- 
ranean. This was the only foreign station. Neither was 
there any regular home squadron, although there were con- 
stant complaints of irregular proceedings and molestations 
on the part of the English and French cruisers at the very 



6 

mouths of the principal harl)ors of the country. But with 
all thits neglect of tlie navy on the part of the government, 
the spirit of the people was thoroughly maritime, as, indeed, 
it always had been from the time of the earliest colonists. 
There were in every generation many gallant youths to 
whom the life of a sailor was full of attraction, for whom 
perils and adventures found an additional charm from their 
connection with the ocean. And already in 1806 the per- 
sonal character of the navy, if we may use the phrase, 
stood very high ; the gallantry of its small but l^rilliant 
corps of officers had given dignity to the service in spite 
of neglect by the government. " Perhaps no service./' 
says the historian of the navy, " ever had so large a pro- 
portion of what was excellent, and so small a proportion 
of that which was defective, as the navy of the United 
States the day peace was signed with Tripoli. It united a 
stern discipline, a high moral tone, with rare models of 
seamanship." It was at this period that the young Shu- 
brick brothers left the plantation at Belvedere to enter the 
naval service. The four j'ears' war with Tripoli had just 
closed, and the glow of its daring achievements was still 
felt throughout the country. 

During the first years of his life as a midshipman, Mr. 
Shubrick, in common with all his brother officers, must 
have had many annoyances to endure from the uncertain, 
short-sighted policy of the government concerning that 
arm of the public service. It was the period of the im- 
pressment of American seamen by the English authorities, 
and the period when commanders of British cruisers held 
themselves authorized to search American vessels of war 
for deserters — in short, it was the day when the Chesapeake 
lowered her flag to the Leopard. 



In May, 1807, Mr. Shubrick was ordered to the Wasp, a 
beautiful sloop carrying eighteen guns, under the command 
of Captain Smith, and destined for the Mediterranean. 
On the 10th of June the Wasp sailed for England, bearing 
dispatches. The vessel had been but a few days in English 
waters when her officers received the news of the blow to 
the Chesapeake. They were burning with indignation at 
this insult to the flag. War was looked for immediately. 
Guns were overhauled, magazines examined, and all pre- 
pared for a desperate conflict. The officers and crew were 
constantly put through all the manoeuvres of a severe naval 
battle. And every other ship in the navy carried on the 
same practice, not only at the moment, but until the dec- 
laration of war, five years later. This vigilance and severe 
discipline prepared the way for future victories. In Octo- 
ber the Mediterranean squadron returned to Boston. Mr. 
Shubrick remained in the Wasp, which was employed in 
enforcing the embargo, until 1810. Not only the com- 
mander, Captain Lawrence, but " all the officers," wrote 
Mr. Shubrick, at a later day, " were of high character, and 
in such a school and at such a time a young aspirant was 
in the way to learn his duty." Captain Lawrence became 
his fast friend. And at this time he also formed an inti- 
macy with one of his messmates, a midshipman like him- 
self, whose home was in the Otsego hills. It was an inti- 
macy which ripened into a manly friendship, warm, deep, 
and lasting, remaining unln-oken until the last hours of life. 
Mr. Shubrick's friend left the navy a year or two later, on 
his marriage, and became a farmer, and later still a writer, 
but he was through life a sailor at heart, and the sympathy 
between them remained singularly true and deep from 
early youth to old age. 



The war cloud hanging over the country varied frequently 
in aspect, now apparently dispersing under negotiation, 
then growing darker, laden with fresh outrage of the laws 
and rights of nations. At length, in 1812, came the crisis. 
It found the naval service of the country utterly inadequate 
to the duties of protecting a vast mercantile marine and of 
defending 2,000 miles of sea-board. In the year 1812 the 
navy of Great Britain registered 1,060 sail, of which be- 
tw"een seven and eight hundred were in effective condition — 
much the most powerful naval force the world had ever 
seen ; more powerful, indeed, at that hour than the armed 
marines of all other Christian powers together. America 
at the same date had just seventeen vessels of loar in effective 
condition, and nine of these were of a class less than fri- 
gates. It is true, there were the gun-boats ; but of what 
avail that entire diminutive fleet against any one of the 
twenty powerful squadrons which England could at a mo- 
ment send upon the American coast? " It is not to be con- 
cealed," says the author of the History of the Navy, " that 
at this precise moment three two-decked ships of the enemy 
could have driven the whole of the public marine of Ame- 
rica before them." 

This inconceivable apathy, as regards the navy, has been 
explained in a manner as extraordinary as the apathy itself. 
To keep American vessels of war at sea, in face of the 
overwhelming marine force of Great Britain, was believed 
by some political leaders to be impossible, and a project is 
said to have been entertained by the cabinet of laying up 
all the naval vessels in ordinarj^ to prevent their falling 
into the hands of the enemy ! Happily, two distinguished 
officers. Captain Bainbridge and Captain Stewart, were 
then at Washinofton, and made a written remonstrance 



9 

against tlie seheine, so vigorous that the idea was ahan- 
doned. Proofs that such a pi'oject was formed, and tliat 
those two ofiicers remonstrated on the occasion, are said 
to exist in the archives of the department at Washington. 
One can imagine the indignation with wliich a phxn of this 
nature would be discussed l>v the spirited young men 
fining forecastle, wardroom, and cal)in of every American 
naval craft then ailoat. 

After the declaration of war, Mr, Shubrick made one 
cruise in the Hornet, Captain Lawrence, and saw the fine 
chase of the Belvidera by the frigate Constitation, Commo- 
dore Rodgers, and the escape of the English vessel, so 
skillfully managed by her commander. In January, 1813, 
he was promoted, and transferred as lieutenant to the Con- 
stellation, Captain Stew^art, fitting out at Washington. As 
soon as the vessel was ready for sea, she dropped down 
abreast of Craney Island to cover the fortifications recently 
begun on that ground. 

Some twenty ships of the line of the enemy's force, 
among them the flags of two admirals, were cruising before 
Hampton Roads. On the 18th three frigates came into the 
roads, one, the Janon, moving up to the quarantine ground 
and destroying some small vessels. On the 20th, in a misty 
night, a flotilla of fifteen gun-boats, one under Lieutenant 
Shubrick, was sent out to attack the English vessel. Form- 
ing in a crescent, the flotilla poured a brisk cannonade into 
the frigate. It was some time before this fire Avas returned, 
as the commander of the Janon would appear to have been 
taken by surprise, and, indeed, the defence was so feeble 
that this vessel might possibly have been captured by the 
gun-boats had it not been for her two consorts moving to 
her support. When the engagement liad continued about 



10 

ail hour, tlio flotilla was signaled to witlidraw. The hoat 
coraniauded l)y Lieuteiumt Shuhrick happened to be nearest 
to the enemy. " That brave young otRcer," said Commo- 
dore Tatnall, an eye-witness, " obeyed the order very slowly, 
and continued to blaze away at the fi'igate. This caused 
the concentration of the enemy's tire upon that single boat. 
Still he moved otf slowly, firing as he retreated, until a 
signal made especially for him directed him to withdraw 
and take in tow a disabled gun-boat." This he did without 
losing a single man. With the next flood tide a fleet of 
fourteen sail of the enemy came into the roads, and, ascend- 
ing to the moutli of the James, prepared to send up a large 
force in boats. As the defence of the batteries on Craney 
Island was of great moment, Captain Cassin, then in com- 
mand at Norfolk, sent three lieutenants of the Constellation, 
among them Lieutenant Shubrick, with 100 seamen, to take 
charge of the principal batteries. On the morning of tlie 
22d the enemy landed a large force at a point beyond the 
reach of the gun-boats, and, rather later, a landing was 
also attempted on Craney Island at a point protected from 
the gun-boats, but exposed to the fire of the seamen's bat- 
tery. The fire from this batterv, one gun of which was 
commanded by Lieutenant Shuhrick, is said to have been 
delivered with singular coolness and precision. It was so 
eftectual that the enemy was repulsed. 

The officers and men of the Constellation gained great 
credit for their steadiness, discipline, and spirit on this occa- 
sion. Captain Cassin declaring that 'the fire from their bat- 
tery resembled, in precision and efiectiveness, the shooting 
of riflemen. 

There was a large force of the enemy then lying in 
Hampton Roads, and there could be little doubt that an 



11 

attempt would he made upon the Consteff.ati.oii by [nirtu'- in 
boats. Captain Stcwai't took \'ery peculiar measures to 
protect his vessel against a surprise. The Constellation was 
anchored in the middle of the narrow channel, and on each 
side of her were moored seven gun-boats, one under the 
command of Mr. Shuljrick. A circle of booms protected 
the gun-boats against boarders, and enabled them to kee[) 
up a flanking fire on all assailants of the frigate. The 
gun-deck guns of the Constell'ition were housed and her 
ports shut. Not a rope was allowed to droop from the 
vessel. The stern ladders and gangway cleats were re- 
moved. Boarding netting was made of ratline boiled in 
half-made pitch, of a hardness to defy a knife ; while nail- 
rods and small chains were secnred to this netting in lines 
about three feet apart. This netting, a sort of chain armor, 
was spread outward and upward towards the yard-arms, 
rising twenty-five feet above the deck ; while it was so ar- 
ranged above that by cutting the ropes which held it in 
position it might be made to fall and enclose in a trap an 
enemy who might succeed in coming alongside the ship. 
The carronades were charged to their muzzles, and de- 
pressed to the nearest range, in order to sweep around the 
hull. The Constellation was high out of water, and, thus 
metamor[)hosed into a nautical citadel, seemed in a con- 
dition almost impregnable, so far as boats were concerned. 
Nevertheless, the enemy attempted to take her by surprise. 
A large force from the English fleet, some 2,000 strong it 
is said, on a dark and drizzling night, advanced stealthily 
upon the ship. But the vigilant guard-l)oat gave the signal 
of alarm at their approach, and they retired. The follow- 
ing night the attempt was renewed with no better success. 
Again, a few nights later, in dai-k, rainy weather, a third 



12 



expedition came up in force. Again the watchful sentinel 
in the gaard-boat discovered them, and moved stealthily so 
close to the enemy that he could hear the officers speaking. 
He was discovered, sprang to his oars, and retired ; l>ut not 
being pursued, he returned to watch the enemy's proceed- 
ings, and actually kept company with the party, following 
their movements step by step, anchoring when they an^ 
chored, and only leaving them when the ebb tide made, 
and they withdrew. ]^o farther attempt to capture the' 
well-guarded American vessel was made by the enemy. 

So great was the British force, however, before Hampton 
Roads that the good ship ConstdUition was not able to work 
her way out to sea. She remained blockaded throughout 
the war. It is said that durmg those three years of naval 
warfare England had 100 pennants of admirals and com- 
modores flying on the American coast. Lieutenant Shu- 
brick, unwilhng to remain idle, left the blockaded ship, and 
was transferred, as third lieutenant of six, to the ComtlUdion, 
Captain Stewart, which had just been refitted at Boston! 
This celebrated vessel, always a favorite with ofiicers and 
men, had already received in nautical parlance the name 
of - Old Ironsides." In February, 1815, the Constitution 
was cruising between Portugal and the Cape Verd Islands, 
where, on the 20th, two vessels of the enemy were seen in 
the ofiing, one a small frigate, the other a large sloop of 
war. After much nautical manoeuvring to prevent a junc- 
tion between the enemy's vessels, the Constitution, at six in 
the evening, showed her ensign as a challenge, and pre- 
pared for immediate action, engaging both vessels of the 
enemy at the same time. The battle was fought by 
moonlight. Nothing could exceed the beautiful ma- 
noeuvring of the Constitution between her two antagon- 



13 

ists ; often shrouded in a dense cloud of smoke, her 
guns were then silent; aguin, a moment later, when the 
moonHght revealed her foe, one hroadside was poured out 
after another with terrihle rapidity. At a critical moment, 
as the cloud of smoke rose, hoth vessels of the enemy 
were seen close at hand, and hoth in positions favorahle to 
themselves. The CovMitution poured a l)roadside into the 
sliip ahreast of her, and at the same moment handled her 
sails with such singular skill that the instant she had 
delivered her fire she backed swiftly astern, compelling the 
vessel in her rear to move her position, in order to avoid a 
raking tire in the opposite direction. The larger ship soon 
after struck. It was the Cyane. An hour later the Con- 
stitution was looking for her enemy's consort, which had 
been partially disabled, but which now prepared to renew 
the action. The fire of the Constitation was so well de- 
livered, however, that every gun told, and the vessels were 
so near that the ripping of the enemy's planks was heard 
by the American officers. The gallant Englishman was 
compelled to strike. The vessel proved to be the Levant, 
and Lieutenant Shubrick was sent on board to take posses- 
sion. In this remarkable moon-lit battle Captain Stewart, 
with one vessel opposed to two, handled the Constitution 
with sucli consummate skill that the conflict has always 
been considered as among the most brilliant nautical ma- 
noeuvring on record. 

Lieutenant Shubrick had a narrow escape after the battle 
was over. He was standing on deck, attending to his du- 
ties, when a portion of the mast fell and struck him on tlie 
head. He was stunned and would probably have been 
killed had it not been for the iron boarding cap which he 
still wore. The iron was indented by the blow, and he re- 



14 

ceived a wound on the .skiill which, in heaUng, left a small 
protuberance. This at a later day proved a puzzle to phre- 
nologists, to his own great amusement. On the 10th of 
March Captain Stewart took his prizes into Porto Praya. 
The next day Lieutenant Shubrick, then first lieutenant, 
his senior being absent in the prizes, discovered three large 
English vessels in the offing, looking into the harbor. 
Their hulls were concealed by a heavy bank of fog, but 
their rigging was seen dimly through the ligliter mist 
above. Fourteen minutes later the Coustltutlon and her 
two prizes had cut their cables and were standing out to 
sea. Captain Stewart was well aware that England, at that 
date, paid no regard whatever to the rights of a weak neu- 
tral. If he remained in the harbor he would, beyond all 
doubt, be attacked. The Constitution was scarcely out of 
port when the enemy made chase with her three ships. 
The chase continued until the afternoon. Captain Stewart 
then signalled the Cyotic to change her course, which she 
did, and in time reached ^ew York in safety. The Lerant 
ran back into Porto Praya, where, under the very guns of 
the Portuguese fort, she was recaptured, in spite of the 
rights of neutrals. Strange to say the three large vessels 
of the enemy were engaged in this recapture, leaving " Old 
Ironsides," meanwhile, to walk rapidly away from tliem. 
A few weeks later peace was signed. 

Lieutenant Shubrick was made an honorary member of 
the South Carolina branch of the Order of tlie Cincinnati, 
at tlie close of the war, after the loss of his elder In'other 
in the Epervier, and in especial acknowledgment of his own 
personal services. 

During the years of peace which followed the war of 
1812 Lieutenant Shubrick was much in society, where he 



15 

was always a great favorite. Tliere was a peculiar charm 
ill bis manner which, from early manljood to old age, made 
him a delightful companion. This rare charm of mam)er 
was, indeed, in him a high personal merit, for it was en- 
tirely frank and unstudied, the healthful outflow of a gen- 
erous, courteous, manly nature. There was the polish of 
high-breeding, but it was the harmony of a liiie individual 
character, underlying the surface, which gave the charm 
of life and reality. For a gentlemanly naval officer a man- 
ner more happy could scarcely be conceived. And his per- 
sonal appearance was equally in his favor; feature, form, 
and carriage were all manly and distinguished ; the posi- 
tion of his head was fine, slightly thrown back, but as easy 
as possible, while the frank, fearless, often joyous look from 
the brown eye, and the smile, always kindly and often del- 
icately expressive of wit or humor, gave additional attrac- 
tion to the face. 

In September, 1815, Lieutenant Shuln-ick was married 
to Miss Harriet Cordelia Wethered, daughter of John 
"Wethered, Esq., of the Eastern Shore of Maryland — a mar- 
riage which remained unbroken for nearly fifty-nine years. 

He went to the Mediterranean rather later, as flag-lieu- 
tenant of Commodore Hull. In 1820 he received his com- 
mission as commander. In 1829 he was ordered to the 
command of the Lexington, and made a cruise on the coast 
of Labrador for the protection of the American fisheries. 
At the close of the fishing season he went to the West 
Indies and brought home the remains of Commodore 
Perry. In 1830, the period of the NuUification troubles, 
he was at the navy-yard in Washington. His commission 
as captain dates from 1831. During four years, from 1833 
to 1837, he was employed on ordnance duty, and from this 



16 . 

period, as experience gave additional value to liis services, 
he was often engaged in various practical duties of impor- 
tance connected with the navv, and repeatedly received the 
assurance of the entire confidence of successive Secretaries 
at the head of the department. His high reputation for fi- 
delity, integrity, promptness, and business capacity was, in- 
deed, well earned l)y earnest devotion to every duty in- 
trusted to him, whether ashore or afloat. 

In 1839 Captain Shubi'ick first hoisted his broad pennant 
as commodore, in command of the West India squadron. 
On his return, in 1840, he was placed in command of the 
navy-yard at Norfolk. In 1844 ho received from the Gov- 
ernor of South Carolina a sword of great l)eauty in design 
and execution, as a testimonial of the just appreciation in 
which his services were held l)y his native state. 

" State of South Carolina. — Columbia. 

" In the Senate, Dec. loth, 1834. 

" Resolved, That the Grovenior be authorized to purchase and cause to 
be presented to Capt. Wm. B. Shubrick, of the U. S. N., and a native of 
South Carolina, a sword, with suitable emblematical devices and inscrip- 
tions, in the name and in behalf of the State, in testimony of the high 
sense of this legislature of his distinguished gallantry and good conduct 
in the remarkable engagement of the U. S. Constitution and His Britannic 
Majesty's two ships, the Cyane and Levant, which resulted in their cap- 
ture, on the 20th of February, 1815, and for the admirable skill and cool- 
ness displayed by him, as first lieutenant of the Constitution, during the 
subsequent chase of that ship by the whole British squadron, off the island 
of St. lago, as well as for his devoted and valiant services during the whole 
war, which were so well calculated to reflect lustre on his native State. 

"Resolved, That the Senate do unanimously agree. Ordered to the 
House of Kepresentatives for concurrence. 

" By order of the Senate : Jacob Waeley, C. S. 

" In the House of Representatives, Dec. 15, 1834. 
" Resolved, That the House do concur in the resolution. 
" By order of the House : R. Anderson, C. H. R. 

" Secretary of State's Office, 
" Charleston, S. C, 
" R. Q. PiNCKNEY, Secretary of State." 



17 

This resolution is engraved on a shield just. ])elow the 
hilt, and on the opposite side is a star, with the motto, 
" Honor the Brave." On the scabbard, halfway between 
the hilt and the point, in relief, is the engagement between 
the Comtitatioii and the Cijane and Levant. 

On the 13th of May, 1846, war was declared against 

Mexico. Commodore Shubrick was thou in command of 

the navy-yard at Washington. May 14 he otFered himself 

to the department for active service, and a few days later 

was informed that the Secretary wished him to go to the 

Pacific to take command of the squadron on the western 

coast. June 1 the Secretary, Mr. Mason, wrote to him as 

follows : 

"Commodore: You will hold yourself in readiness to proceed in the 
United States ship Independence to the Pacific, for the command of the 
United States naval forces on that station." 

Again, July 9, the Secretary wrote as follows : 

" Commodore : You are herein appointed to the command of the United 
States naval forces in the Pacific Ocean, to relie^ e Commodore John T. 
Sloat." 

The Independence was lying at Boston in an unfinished 
state, and with a new crew, but the broad pennant of the 
commodore was hoisted on the vessel August 10, and on 
the 29th she was reported outside of Boston Light. The 
Independence arrived at Valparaiso December 2. Commo- 
dore Biddle had arrived at the same port only a few hours 
earlier with the squadron from the East Indies. There was 
a singular inconsistency in the orders he had received from 
the department and those given to Commodore Shul)rick. 
The orders to Connuodore Biddle were worded as follows : 

"i>/a// 16,1846. 
"Commodore: A state of war has been declared ))y Conj>;ress to exist 
between the United States and the republic of Mexico. You will, there- 
fore, with all possible dispatch, appear with the squadron under your 
command off" California, and take command of the Pacific squadron." 



18 

Commodore Biddle was the senior officer. The orders 
to Commodore Shul)rick were essentially the same, and of 
hiter date. Serious difficulties might, under less favorable 
circumstances, have resulted from this irregularity in the 
orders from the department. But it was the first wish of 
both officers to serve the country faithfully. In accordance 
with naval etiquette, Commodore Biddle, as senior officer, 
took command. Commodore Shul)rick sailed immediately 
for Monterey, where he arrived in eight days from Valpa- 
raiso, the voyage from Boston round the continent, includ- 
ing delays, having l>een made in the remarkably short time 
of 146 days. He proceeded immediately to organize and 
discipline the forces. On the arrival of Commodore Biddle, 
in April, he hoisted the red pennant of a subordinate com- 
mander, and was sent to l)lockade Mazatlan. He was soon 
recalled to Monterey, however, when Commodore Biddle 
informed him officially that he was about to give up the 
command and return home. Commodore Shubi'ick then 
laid before the department the plans he had already made 
for taking possession of all the ports on the western coast 
of Mexico. On the 19th of July the command was for- 
mally transferred to him, and he immediately prepared for 
active operations. A supply of small-arms was procured, 
and having drilled tlie seamen of the squadron thoroughly 
in their use for service ashore, the commander-in-chief di- 
rected Captain Lavalette to proceed to the Gulf of Califor- 
nia with the Congress and the Portsmouth, and to commence 
operations by taking possession of Guaymas, nearly at the 
head of the gulf — an order which was handsomely executed. 
On the 27th of October Commodore Shubrick sailed from 
Monterey for Cape San Lucas with the Independence and 
the Cyane, Captain Dupont. At San Lucas he was joined 



19 

by Captain Laviilette in the Conf/ress. After taking pos- 
session of San Jose, tlie pi'incipal mart of Lower California, 
and a resort of our whalers, and quieting some (iisturl)anees 
at Todos Santos, he sailed for Mazatlan with the Indepen- 
dence, the Congress, and the Cyane. 

Mazathm was then the most important point on the west- 
ei-n eoast of North America, containing 11,000 inhabitants, 
witli a garrison of some 1,200 regular troops. On the 10th 
of Xoveml)er the American fleet came in sight of the town. 
A plan of the coast and harl)or had been given to the com- 
manders, and the position to betaken by each vessel marked 
on this chart. The wind was moderate, aud evening was 
at hand. The commander-in-chief incjuired if the ships 
could take their positions after dark. The answer from all 
was affirmative. They were then ordered to proceed. Maz- 
atlan is built on a peninsula. There is a bend in the outer 
shore called the " Old Harboj-." The Congress led off in 
line style, and swept into position in this outer harl)or. The 
shore being low here, the ship from this point could com- 
mand several of the roads leading from the town, and ef- 
fectively cover the landing, should the surf allow this i-each 
of the shore to be chosen for the purpose. It was consid- 
ered a hazardous anchorage, but a position favorable for 
attack, and boldly taken in the dim evening light. The Cg- 
<ine moved onward into the New Harbor, her light draught 
enabling her to anchor so close to the bar that her guns 
could reach the wharf, and cover a landing there. The 
flag-ship Independence meanwhile stood ofl' for another slight 
bend in the shore, where a l)reak in the hills gives a view 
eastward of the most important part of the town. Steadily 
she made her way in the darkness to the position allotted 
to her, dropped her anchor, and swinging round, her stern 



20 

almost in the rollers, tlie [)i'oud ship showed her imposing 
gun-deck tier of lights to the town. Xo vessel had ever 
before taken the anchorage chosen by Commodore Shu- 
brick for his flag-shi}) on that November evening. An 
English vessel of war was lying at anchor in the harbor, 
and her officers expressed their admiration strongly at the 
skillful manner in which the three vessels took their differ- 
ent positions, investing the town so effectually. 

Early on the morning of the lltli Mazatlan was sum- 
moned to surrender. Colonel Telles, the commander of 
the port, tore up the letter of Commodore Shubrick, with 
insolent threats. Orders were then given for an immedi- 
ate landing. The town was not to be boml)arde(l, but to 
be taken by assault. Owing to the condition of the surf, 
no attempt to land could be made from without, and it be- 
came necessary to enter the harbor in boats, and to land 
at the wharf. The boats of the different ships entered the 
harbor in three lines, commanded by their respective offi- 
cers, Commodore Shubrick directing their movements in 
person. Five pieces of artillery, recently captured in Lower 
California, and under the command of Lieutenant Living- 
ston, accompanied the detachment. The Cyane sprung her 
broadside, to cover the landing if necessary. The move- 
ment of the boats was swift ; the men were soon ashore, 
and formed into companies while the artillery was landing. 
The whole force, 600 strong, then began their march toward 
the citadel or fort which protected the town. They had 
expected decided opposition, the Mexican force l)eing 
nearly two to one, exclusive of the inhabitants of the town, 
which in itself offered many natural facilities for defence ; 
but the threats of Colonel Telles proved idle bluster. The 
Mexicans, who had recentlv fought with determined resist- 



21 

ance on several occasions in California, now reti-eated 
without strikino- a l)low. Commodore Sluibrick marched 
his force through the town to the citadel without opposi- 
tion, and the American flag was hoisted under a salute 
from the Independence. Measures were immediate!}' taken 
for the defence of the captured town ; a garrison of sea- 
men and marines was organized, and Captain Lavalette ap- 
pointed governor. The squadron moved into the harl)or, 
the terms of occupation were arranged with the municipal 
jnnta, the custom-house was opened, and a tariff of duties, 
modified to suit the trade of the coast, was established. 
In iive months more than $250,000 of duties was collected 
at this port. Redoubts were erected and manned on the 
landward side of the town to anticipate an attack, and sor- 
ties were frequently made to ch'ive the Mexican force far- 
ther back into the country. The towns, and other lesser 
places captured, were held until the close of the war, but 
the large force required on shore for this purpose prevented 
Commodore Shubrick from fully carrying out his original 
plan of taldng possession of Acapulco and other small ports 
to the south w^ard. In July, 1848, on the proclamation of 
peace, he returned home in the Independence. 

His first duty after the Mexican war was connected with 
the ordnance department. 

In the summer of 1851 he left his home in Washington 
and came up into the highlands of Otsego. The friend of 
his youth, from whom he had never known a moment's 
estrangement, was fatally ill. The half-paralyzed hand 
could no longer hold the pen, but the mind was still active, 
and the heart warm as ever. At that moment, indeed, 
wdthin a few weeks of his death, Mr. Cooper \vas dictating 
passages connected with a continuation of the History of the 



Nnvjl, and auotliei' work wliieh \\\i^ t^anguino spirit still 
hoped to finish. Tlie friends enjoyed some pleasant, peace- 
ful days together ; hoth were cheerful and l)Uojant by na- 
ture. They parted with the affection of nearly fifty years 
still warm and true. It was their last meeting on earth ; 
but the survivor cari'ied with him an affectionate regard for 
the memory of his friend for nearly a quarter of a century 
longer, until the latest days of his own life. 

In August, 1852, a Light-house Board was established by 
act of Congress. Commodore Shubrick was placed on the 
board, and became its chairman, a position he held for 
nineteen years, althougli there were interruptions when his 
services were required elsewhere. 

In the summer of 1853 he was emplo,yed on important 
and critical duty connected with the vexed question of the 
fisheries. These fisheries on the coast of the British Prov- 
inces are of two kinds, the deep-sea fishing for cod and 
halibut, and the in-shore fishing for mackerel and herring. 
By the treaty of 1788 the right of fishing on the Grand 
Bank, in the Gulf of St. Law^rence, on portions of the coast 
of Newfoundland used by British fishermeii, and on the 
coasts, bays, and creeks of all other of H. B. Majesty's do- 
minions in America, was conceded to the United States. 
After the war of 1812, however, England claimed that by 
tlie war all past treaties were abrogated, and now chose to 
make a distinction between the r ?>//;/ of the United States 
to the deep-sea fishing, wliich it did not deny, and the 
primlege of the in-sliore fishing, declared to be abrogated 
by the war. It was not until 1818 that the question was 
partially settled by a convention, which awarded to the 
United States the right to fish in the waters of certain parts 
of the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and other 



23 

British possessions iu Xortli Aineriea, providorl tlie Amer- 
ican vessels <liil not t^s/i mifhiii three marine miles of the shore. 
Here lay the difficulty. Tlic British authorities measured 
the three marine miles from an imaginary line drawn from 
headland to headland, and sought to exclude American 
■fishermen from all the numerous hays and indentations of 
those coasts, including the vast Bay of Fundy. Diplomacy 
perched on those headlands for many a long year. The 
great law-officers of the Crown sustained the colonial head- 
land doctrine. And yet the word itself is not found in the 
convention of 1818. Matters became more and more com- 
plicated. Vexatious laws were passed by Nova Scotia 
authorizino: seizures of all American vessels within the head- 
land line. The colonial secretary in England declared that 
in future an armed force should be stationed every year on 
the coast of Kova Scotia to carry out the headland theory. 
Many seizures of American craft followed this course. It 
was in the midst of these difficulties that Commodore 
Shubrick was ordered to the fishing grounds in command 
of a squadron. The aspect of affairs was very threatening. 
A little rough handling of the subject might have brought 
on war. Perhaps no better testimony to the value of his 
services and his high personal character could be found 
than the choice of Commodore Shubrick for this delicate 
duty. In his hands the honor of the country would be safe 
beyond all doubt, while at the same time his discretion, his 
sense of justice, and the courtesy of manner for which he 
was distinguished would temper his decision. In July he 
sailed from Portsmouth, N"ew Hampsliire, in command of 
the squadron ordered to the fishing grounds, the Princeton 
bearing his broad pennant. The w^ork allotted to him was 
very thoroughly done. Preliminary inquiries were made of 



24 

tlio collectors of on r own Eastern ports, and of the principal 
bouses directly connected with the iisheries. The Prlnr-etoii 
then proceeded to Halifax. The ditferent vessels of the 
squadron, includini>; the flag-ship, were all very actively 
employed, during the entire cruise, visiting every point of 
any importance within the wide range of the fisheries, and 
carrying the flag of the country into waters where it had 
never been borne before by a man-of-war. And while dis- 
charging this duty with the utmost fidelity, Commodore 
Shubrick succeeded, by a wise combination of firmness and 
courtesy, in conciliating the British authorities. At Hali- 
fax he met Admiral Seymour, then commanding the Brit- 
ish forces on the fishing grounds. The conference vvith 
Admiral Seymour settled satisfactorily the most pressing 
questions under temporary arrangements, looking forward 
to a treaty of reciprocity on the same subject then under 
consideration, and which was signed the following year. 
The English authorities in the l^rovinces, both civil and 
military, were very decided in their gratification at the just 
and conciliatory course taken by Commodore Shubrick and 
his officers on this occasion. As usual, the discipline of the 
fleet was excellent. A brilliant public entertainment was 
given by the civil and military authorities of Prince Edward 
Island to Commodore Shubrick and his officers at the close 
of the cruise. The authoritios at Washington on the re- 
turn of the squadron expressed their approbation very 
strongly. The department " was struck with the amount 
of service rendered, and with the good judgment with 
which it was combined," and expressed its " admiration for 
the promptness, energy, and cheerful zeal shown by the flag- 
officer and all under his command.'" 

After a renewal of difficulties a few years later, Commo- 
dore Shubrick lived to see the inauguration of a happier era 



25 

in 1871. wlieii the old forms of a snl)tle diplomacy were ex- 
changed for the more manly principle of upright arbitration. 
By th(> treaty of Washington the old headland doctrine 
disappears as obsolete. American and British fishermen 
now have equal rights in those waters and in certain por- 
tions of our own coast. The commission appointed by the 
treaty to meet at Halifax, will, it is hoped, settle perma- 
nently all the difficulties of this question. 

In 1858 there was again an interruption to the duties of 
Commodore Sbubrick at the Light-house Board. He was 
once more afloat. For some years there had been difficul- 
ties between the government of the United States and that 
of Paraguay, proceeding from the jealousy of Lopez, who 
aimed at retaining a monopoly of the commerce of the 
country in his own hands. At that date in Paraguay the 
government was the chief merchant and manufacturer. 
True, a decree of 1845 had nominally opened the country 
to foreigners, and in consequence of this decree an Ameri- 
can company of some importance had purchased lands and 
established mills and factories on the Paraguay river, some 
miles below* Asuncion, the capital. The gross injustice of 
Lopez to this company, the ol)stacles thrown in its way, the 
vexations it endured, terminated at length in the arbitrary 
closing of the cigar factory by the government of Paraguay. 
Personal insults to the American consul and other citizens 
of the United States also required redress. And finally, 
when the Water Witch, Commander Page, ascended the 
river, prepared to exchange the ratification of a treaty 
already agreed upon between the two governments, she 
was fired upon by a Paraguayan fort. To settle these diffi- 
culties, and to show to the countries in the southern hem- 
isphere the force at the command of the United. States, a 



26 

powerful fleet was sent into those waters, consisting, said 
President Buchanan in his Message, of " nineteen armed 
vessels, great and small, carr\dng 200 guns and 2500 men, 
under the command of the vetei-an and gallant Shubrick." 
Commodore Shubrick sailed from New York in the Salnnr, 
his flag-ship, October 17. When three days out the ship 
was struck by a cyclone, which lasted three days, and threw 
her on her beam ends. For five hours she was kept down, 
straining under the terrible force of the hurricane, the roar- 
ing of the tempest sounding, said Commodore Shubrick at 
a later day, as the howling of infuriated wild animals in a 
forest might be supposed to sound. Every precaution had 
been taken at the approach of the gale, and the vessel was 
lying to under bare poles. Had she been scudding she 
must have foundered. Such at least was the opinion of her 
officers. An examination of her condition after the hurri- 
cane proved her to be too much crippled to proceed on the 
long voyage before her. She was taken to Bermuda, where 
the authorities courteously off'ered every assistance, and she 
was repaired in the dry-dock. With the exception of this 
delay the expedition was entirely successful. All difficulties 
were satisfactorily adjusted. The commissioner, Mr. Bowlin, 
arrived at Asuncion January 25, 1859, and in three weeks 
all the objects of his mission were thoroughly accomplished. 
A fleet of nineteen vessels so well commanded proved the 
best possible argument in favor of the just demands of the 
commissioner. "To the zeal, energy, discretion, and courte- 
ous and gallant Ijearing of Flag-oflScer Shubrick and 
the other officers under his command in conducting: an ex- 
pedition far into the interior of a remote country, encounter- 
ing not only great physical difficulties, but the fears and ap- 
prehensions and prejudices of numerous states, is the country 



27 

lariieh" indebted for the success of the enterprise and for 
tlio friendly feeling which now prevails toward the United 
States in all that part of South America." Such was the 
report of the Secretary of the Navy. The simple dignity 
and the kindly courtesy of beari'.ig natural to Conmiodore 
Shuhrick never failed to attract the respect and regard of 
all whom he met on othcial duty. " lie represented us 
abroad with men of high rank better than any officer we 
ever had," said Admiral Dupont. General Urquiza, Pres- 
ident of the Argentine Republic, received him with especial 
honors, and presented him with a handsome sword in testi- 
mony of " respect for his high character." Congress, by 
joint resolution, allowed him to accept this beautiful sword 
— -a graceful close to his last service afloat. 

The grave crisis which convulsed the entire country was 
now at hand. We all remember the firino- of the first e:un. 
the roll of the first drum, calling brother to arm against 
brother. Those were sounds which seemed to pierce our 
very heart's core. And we can all remember the deep 
anxiety with which we awaited intelligence of the course 
taken by this or that distinguished public man. One was 
wavering, another was steadfast, another had deserted the 
flag and the country. Probably among the mihtary officers, 
whether of the army or the navy, there was not one placed 
in a position more painful, not one more sorely tried, than 
Admiral Shuhrick. The first gun in that fratricidal strife 
was fired at Charleston, within sight of his paternal home 
at Belvedere. The first State to take the fatal step of seces- 
sion was his native State, in whose early history he had 
always felt a just and honorable pride. In many of the 
best homes in Charleston, on many plantations of the State, 
were men, women, and children with kindred blood to his 



28 

own flowing in their veins. Scarce a public man in Caro- 
lina of honoraljle name and character who was not known 
to him ; very many were his friends. His high standing 
as an officer and his personal character rendered his ex- 
ample of importance to the Confederate leaders. St^ennous 
efl^brts were made to shake his loyalty by those high in au- 
thority in Carolina. The natiu'al strength of his feelings, 
the unusual warmth of his attachments, must have given 
additional force to the trial. We draw the veil over what, 
to a man like himself, must have l)een hours of anguish. 
The result is known, l^o subtlety could mislead his honest 
mind. No flattery could lilind him to plain duty. ISTo 
force of cutting abuse could move him. He remained at 
his post in Washington, and after the defeat at Bull Run 
otFered himself to the government for active service. At 
this date he even volunteered to aid in defending the forts 
near Washington, 

In December, 1861, Congress passed a law creating a 
retired list, whereby all navy officers are considered " re- 
tired " after forty-flve years' service, or on attaining the 
age of sixty-two years. At the time of the passage of this 
law Commodore Shubrick had fulfilled both of these con- 
ditions. But the department used a discretionary power 
in the application of the law ; some exceptions were made, 
and Commodore Shubrick continued for ten years longer 
to discharge the duties of chairman of the Light-house 
Board. In 1862 he received his commission as rear-admiral 
on the retired list. 

Men of upright and unprejudiced minds, as they move 
anward through life, are often gradually led to raise their 
eyes higher. Such is the natural result of experience. 
Holy truths which, though acknowledged, are yet half for- 



29 

gotten in tlie passionate day of voutli, rise more clearly be- 
fore the mind at a period of greatei' calm and thoughtful- 
ness. Fidelity to every dnty, liowever severe and onerous, 
however trivial and irksome, was perhaps the most strik- 
ing virtue in the character of Admiral Shubrick. With 
him, to Iviiow a duty was to perform it at whatever sacri- 
fice. And there was also a manly humility in his nature, 
whicli was a fine element in a character so noble. This fi- 
delity to dut}^ this generous humility, led him 3'ear by year 
nearer to his God. Born and baptized in the Episcopal 
Church, he became in mature life a faithful communicant 
of tliat Church. His attendance at public worship was reg- 
ular, not only on Sunday, but at other ser\'ices. During 
Lent, in the cold gray dawn of the winter mornings, his 
manly figure was daily seen moving toward the parish 
church for the early prayers. Yes, and following in his 
steps came ajiother manly figure from the same household, 
more huml)le, less erect, with the gray head and dark face 
of " Un(;le Simon," a worthy freedman, honored and es- 
teemed bv manv who knew him in Washington. Master 
and servant knelt daily together at those early services. 

Years passed over-. Tie had counted the allotted three 
score and ten, and still he was engaged in public duties, 
giving faithful attention to his work, and making journeys 
of inspection from time to time to ditferent points of the 
coast. And he was still a charming companion, the rever- 
ence felt for his venerable character and increasing years 
adding a higher interest to the pleasure he had always car- 
ried ^^•itll him into society. His private life from early 
youth had been one of singular beauty, pure, faithful, gen- 
erous, manly, in all its varied relations. In 1871 Congress 
passed a law relieving all retired ofiftcers from duty. The 



30 

work of Admiral Shubrick, as chairman of the Light-house 
Board, ceased at that date, which closed a service of sixty- 
five years, during which he had been unemployed only six 
years and eight months. 

His general health had now iDecome impaired, and Ijis 
sight was seriously affected. He was compelled to give up 
reading, which through Hfe had l^een one of his greatest 
pleasures. The bright, joyous manner natural to him was 
now graduaUy passing away into the quiet of advanced 
age, though occasionally, with an old friend, he had still a 
great deal to say in his usual pleasant way. Attachment 
to his friends remained unabated, and his affections vividly 
warm to the last. And he was still interested in all public 
events of importance, whether at home or abroad, hearing 
the papers I'ead morning and evening. The blindness he 
had feared never darkened his sight entirely. The dignity 
of extreme old age was in him very touching, and those 
who were with him most frequently felt that the loveliness 
of his character and manner could scarcely be described 
with full justice. 

Surrounded by far more than common love, and rever- 
ence, and devotion, he died peacefully at his house in Wash- 
ington, May 27th, 1874, wanting but a few months of com- 
pleting his eighty-fourth year. 

The general order issued by the Secretary of the iSTavy 
on the same day, announcing the death of Rear- Admiral 
Shubrick, closes with the following passage : 

" In every trust committed to him during life he has 
deserved well of the republic, and, dying, he leaves tu 
the service the conspicuous example of a life of wis- 
dom, courtesy, courage, and spotless honor." 



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